A good example of what I was talking about yesterday. I set out to do a tango. What came out when I played was a mix of Rachmaninoff and Perry Mason - and I don't think the beat was a tango which totally disqualifies it.
So I end up with this. Cool! Not the final result, but the process - what happened. If you're an improvisor and you get too attached to yourself it will be frustrating to say the least. I may not care for this piece, but what it made me do after jumping in was the thrill-ride I'm partly in this for. To start an idea and then see it through once in, is my kind of adventure seeking.
I'm going to say something that I think needs pointing out now. I started this daily music blog back in November. I set out to have some coffee, then sit at the keyboard and hit record without any preconceptions at all. This worked for a while. I felt the totally free approach concept (which I wanted to keep out of integrity) wasn't providing the variety I wanted. I needed to stir the coals (or soup) by thinking of a seed idea that would make it different from day to day. I would also say to myself "I haven't done this kind of thing in a while" and go from there. Then the new challenge becomes starting from an idea in the mind to what happens when the fingers hit the keys. Yes, it's still very much improvisation.
So I end up with this. Cool! Not the final result, but the process - what happened. If you're an improvisor and you get too attached to yourself it will be frustrating to say the least. I may not care for this piece, but what it made me do after jumping in was the thrill-ride I'm partly in this for. To start an idea and then see it through once in, is my kind of adventure seeking.
I'm going to say something that I think needs pointing out now. I started this daily music blog back in November. I set out to have some coffee, then sit at the keyboard and hit record without any preconceptions at all. This worked for a while. I felt the totally free approach concept (which I wanted to keep out of integrity) wasn't providing the variety I wanted. I needed to stir the coals (or soup) by thinking of a seed idea that would make it different from day to day. I would also say to myself "I haven't done this kind of thing in a while" and go from there. Then the new challenge becomes starting from an idea in the mind to what happens when the fingers hit the keys. Yes, it's still very much improvisation.